


Love choose leave

by SerenaDusk



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reverse Falls (Gravity Falls), Background story, Divorce, Emma is boss, F/M, Fidds is a great dad, Pre-Canon, Prequel, Stanford is an ass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25290088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenaDusk/pseuds/SerenaDusk
Summary: Fiddleford gets an amazing job offer, but it will force him to choose. Emma handles it better than him, that's for sure.Prequel to Reverse Falls Reversed
Relationships: Emma-May Dixon/Fiddleford H. McGucket, Fiddleford H. McGucket & Tate McGucket
Kudos: 3





	Love choose leave

**If you love me, will you let me make my own mistakes?**

“Yes, I understand. No, of course. All the papers are approved, and the diplomas too.” Emma-May knew she should listen to Fiddleford’s phone calls. She trusted her husband with all her heart. But she was concerned with the nature of these ones. Since they started, he had gotten so busy. He had always been one to work hard, but this was insane. So many extra courses wasn’t healthy, couldn’t be healthy. “Honey?” She asked carefully after Fiddleford finally put the phone down. He turned around and smiled at her. “I’m so sorry, darlin’. I didn’t mean to rush past you like that.” He came over to her and embraced her. Emma did her best to ignore the bags under his eyes and the tension in his shoulders as she returned the favour. After he let go, she gave him a smile. “You didn’t, I just wanted to let you know I made coffee.” She spoke quietly, hoping against her better judgement that now that he finished all those courses, things would go back to normal.

Fiddleford smiled down at her, he was so much taller than her, but it didn’t matter. He loved it when she pretended to be mad, set her hands on his chest and glared up at him. It was adorable and settled their arguments ever so quickly. But this time he feared there would be no quick ending. “I don’t deserve you.” He muttered as he watched her go to the kitchen to get the coffee pot. “Want me to get Tate from his room?” He asked when she returned. Emma smiled. “Yes. He really takes after you. If I didn’t make him, he would never leave his room.” She shook her head and Fiddleford went a little bit red in the face. She wasn’t wrong and he knew that, so he didn’t comment but just knocked on the door of his son’s bedroom. “No ma, I don’t wanna stop playin’ with dad’s tools.” The answer sounded annoyed, but Fiddleford wasn’t about to let Tate get away with that attitude, so he just opened the door and leaned against the doorframe. “That ain’t a tone for a man who drinks apple juice.” He spoke sternly and the kid looked up with wide eyes. “Dad! Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. I just was-“ He didn’t finish his sentence, just lowered his head and stared at his feet. “Sorry dad, I was rude.” Tate said softly and his father just chuckled. “March, downstairs for apple juice. And what did we tell you about playin’ with my tools?” He spoke up, and Tate ducked underneath him, sprinting down the stairs. “Only when you’re done with them!”

Emma stopped her son before he could bump into a chair. “Hold your fire, little racehorse. Or you will get the hiccups again.” She scolded, but she didn’t really sound mad. She sounded more like she was laughing. Tate pouted. “Dad’s always runnin’ through the house like that.” He protested, only to find himself staring straight into his father’s grey eyes. “You can go runnin’ all you want when you don’t run into the furniture anymore, deal?” Fiddleford had crouched down in front of his son. It was easy to lose his balance like this, but he was more than willing to take that risk. “Deal.” Tate answered and spit on his hand before holding it out with a devilish grin. Usually his dad wouldn’t go along with this, but this time he didn’t even hesitate. It was a very wet handshake and Emma immediately shook her head. “And you both gotta wash your hands first.” She scolded and they both did, with a sheepish grin. Only after that, the three would go to the living room for a coffee and apple juice for the small man of the house. Fiddleford found himself staring at the coffee in the cup in his hands. He knew there was a conversation coming that he really didn’t want to have, but he had no choice. This would be a huge opportunity for him and would be good for his family too, but it was very hard to explain.

Emma pretended not to notice the bouncing leg. She knew he would either come clean or it would go away on its own. It was either stress or excitement, but his expression told her it was the former. She wasn’t stupid, it had something to do with those phone calls. Maybe she would finally hear what it was all about. Perhaps he would finally come clean about what was going on, why he was taking all those classes and buried himself in tons of extra work. How often she had joked that with all those books, his head would become a library and would have to expand to make room for all the knowledge. Tate picked up on the tension in his father and started tapping a rhythm on his leg with his fingers. Fiddleford was elsewhere with his thoughts, but his fingers subconsciously started following the rhythm and a slight smile appeared on his face. Emma relaxed a little bit when she saw that. Apparently he wasn’t so far gone that he didn’t even respond to that. Some people might be annoyed by constant tapping, bouncing and other habits, but not Emma. Thanks to all those little gestures, she could read Fiddleford’s moods almost all the time, helping her to know when she shouldn’t disturb him and when he was stuck on something and should definitely take a break. Right now he should take a break, but interfering would make it worse and she knew that very well.

Luckily they had Tate. The boy managed to interrupt his father’s moods in a way Emma never could. Once Fiddleford actually looked up, pulled out of his train of thoughts, his son begged him for stories about college, when his father had, so he told, made an automated potato peeler so he wouldn’t have to interrupt his studies for something like that. “Why don’t we have a peeler here, dad?” Tate asked, his eyes big and full of excitement. Fiddleford chuckled and poked his son in his side. “Because it would make all of us very lazy. Peelin’ potatoes is honest work.” He answered without so much as a hint of sarcasm. “Speaking of potatoes, there’s a pile in the kitchen and they ain’t gonna peel themselves.” Emma commented and got up. “Yay, potatoes!” Tate ran after his mom. “Can I have one to make a clock, ma?” He begged his mother, but she shook her head. “That’s what you said last time, and I ain’t about to let you make another peanut canon for the squirrels.” She motioned to the living room door. “Go bug your dad.” She chuckled and Tate did so, keeping Fiddleford from returning to his anxious state of mind until the kid was asleep. But then he couldn’t stop it anymore. The longer he would wait with this conversation, the worse it would get. He knew very well that Emma had picked up on his moods, she always did. But sometimes he wished she wouldn’t.

“Darlin’, we need to talk.” He said, it was around 10pm and part of him wanted to leave it for tomorrow, but he knew that Tate would be around again, and this was a conversation they had to have in private. He was too young to really understand why it was so important. Emma would understand, or so he hoped. For now, she just put the newspaper down and sighed. “Am I finally gonna hear what you’ve been stressin’ ‘bout for months now?” She asked and Fiddleford nodded quietly. He wanted to do this right, but he was very much aware of how this was going to sound. “I got a job offer.” He started, only to be immediately interrupted by an embrace from his wife. “Honey, that’s amazin’!” She was careful not to wake up Tate, but it was hard to hide her excitement. While they were doing fine, a job _offer_ could only mean that someone finally picked up on the genius she already knew her husband was. Fiddleford hugged her back, trying to be as happy as she was. He was over the moon with his job offer of course, but there were a few downsides. “It’s great, yes. But it involves a few things that ain’t as good.” His leg started bouncing again and he tried resting his elbows on them to stop it. Emma sat back and frowned. “What’s going on, dear? What got you like this ‘bout a job offer?” She tilted her head a little.

“It’s in a private business.” He looked up, fiddling with his wedding ring. “And I gotta move there, permanently.” Fiddleford closed eyes, waiting for the reaction. Emma frowned. “Where are we moving to?” She asked, sounding she like was already making travel plans. He shook his head and looked up. “I can’t… take you with me. And Oregon.” He bit his lip. “My new boss is- well, he’s a little private ‘bout everythin’.” Fiddleford ran a hand through his hair and Emma took his hand. “Is this temporary?” She asked, a sad undertone in her voice. Her husband shook his head. “Don’t sound like it is. I have to prove undivided loyalty. And I don’t wanna string you along.” His voice got softer, this was so much harder than he hoped it would be. “You and Tate… you got a great life here. And family. I don’t wanna make you move to Oregon if I don’t even know if and when I can come visit.” He took her hand in both of his now. “I will write whenever I can, make sure he knows who I am, why I do this and that I am proud of him. But I ain’t forcing him to give up both his house and his father.” Fiddleford’s voice cracked. “I don’t want you to be stuck to an absent man either. Emma, darlin’ I just want the best for you and Tate. And the best option I got is this.” He squeezed the hands of his wife. It hurt a bit, but she didn’t show any of it. She was thinking about all of it. Anger was bubbling up in her, but frankly, it wasn’t directed at her husband. It was directed at that mystery boss, who was forcing him to make this choice. She had seen the hard work, the stress he got, just to get this job in the first place.

“Is it worth it? If you have to give up on so much, why do it?” She asked, looking Fiddleford in his grey eyes full of tears. “Emma, the job I was offered can bring me global recognition. There are almost infinite possibilities to realize my most ambitions designs. It’s a job with opportunities like no other. A chance I won’t get anywhere else in the world. It would finally mean I get to actually build the machines I’ve been designing.” He said, but his voice cracked again. Emma rubbed his hands. They had gone cold. “But dear, don’t you see? It’s not permanent! Look, we don’t know how long it’s gonna take, but I’m sure that once you got the fame you deserve from this boss, universities will line up for you, and you can come home.” She said, looking at him again and giving him a reassuring smile. “Look, if your boss really wants it, we can get that paper. But you will be my husband forever, you know that, right?”


End file.
